Journal Article

Maternal Transfer of Oral Vaccine Induced Anti-OspA Antibodies Protects Peromyscus spp Pups from Tick-Transmitted Borrelia burgdorferi

Joyner, Greg, Azevedo, Jose F, Kundu, Suman, Samanta, Kamalika, Gomes-Solecki, Maria

2025

Overview

The efficacy and duration of passive immunity protection depends on maternal antibody levels and transfer efficiency. We investigated whether oral vaccination of dams with recombinant OspA-expressing could induce maternal transfer of anti-OspA antibodies and protect pups from challenge. Dams were vaccinated until breeding pairs were created (i), until parturition (ii), and until pups were 2 weeks old (iii). Pups were challenged with nymphal -transmitted at ∼ 4 weeks of age. Anti-OspA IgG were quantified in dams and pups, and anti IgG were quantified in pups. burden was assessed by qPCR in pups' tissues ∼ 4 weeks after tick challenge and viability of was assessed by culture of heart tissue. pups born to dams vaccinated until breeding had low serologic anti-OspA antibody and were not protected from tick transmitted infection. However, when dams' vaccination extended until parturition and until pups were two weeks old, significant anti-OspA antibody transfer and protection from infection occurred. This was evidenced by absence of antibody to PepVF, absence of DNA in heart and bladder tissues, and absence of in culture from heart tissues from pups euthanized >9 weeks after birth. We show that transfer of anti-OspA antibodies from vaccinated dams to offspring prevents tick transmission and infection dynamics of in the major reservoir host of this spirochete in the United States. This study contributes to our understanding of how interventions based in reservoir targeted OspA vaccines designed to block transmission of from infected ticks may disrupt the enzootic cycle of this spirochete and reduce incidence of Lyme disease.

• Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
• Subject: Microbiology